Is white truly white?
Painting white fur can be challenging but I love it. The biggest thing to remember is white is never white. White is very reflective so often there are many other colours and tones to include. Really studying your reference photo will make such a difference to pick out these differences and ensuring they’re included in your art.
| Top Tip |
Start with a grey mixture of black and white and then add the colour to it you want. So if you want a browner grey add a raw umber, burnt umber (depending on the tone your after) to your grey mixture. This is always a good starting point for mixing values for white fur. This is also how I would mix my pastel colour for white fur to.
Look at Alfie here, the West Highland Terrier. There are so many different tones. Capturing these differences ensures that your portrait will not be flat. You need to ensure your contrast is correct. Your lights light enough and your darks dark enough.